1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to conductors for communication equipment. More particularly, The present invention relates to a terminal block equipped with a cover that includes a cover hinged on one side of the terminal block and anchored on a correct location to completely cover the terminal block.
2. Related Art
The terminal block is widely used in telecommunication systems to connect signal wires on one location to facilitate maintenance and management. U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,259 discloses such a connecting device, which has a rectangular terminal block made from an insulation material. The terminal block has a plurality of guiding plates on two longer sides that are spaced from one another to allow the signal wires to pass through. The signal wires may be divided according to different signal sources and classified according to their functions. The terminal block further has a plurality of terminals. Each terminal has a narrow slot to clip a signal wire, so that the signal wire and the terminal form an electric connection. The terminals may be connected in advance according to requirements. For instance, two or more terminals may be integrally formed by stamping, so that one end of the terminals is interconnected and the other end of the terminals runs through the bottom of the terminal block and extends outside the top surface of the terminal block. Or different terminals may be connected by jumpers. When there is a need to connect two signal wires, they may be coupled on the connected terminals to form electric connection. Moreover, connection of the signal wires may be expanded from two signal wires to multiple signal wires. For instance, to branch a signal source to a plurality of signal wires, multiple signal wires have to be interconnected, and the signal wires can pass through the same gap between two guiding plates for classification to facilitate identification during repairs and maintenance.
As the terminals are exposed on the top surface of the terminal block, they are easily hit by external articles and result in a shot circuit between the terminals, or result in disconnecting of the signal wires. Hence a cover has to be provided on the top surface of the terminal block to provide shielding and protection. The conventional cover adopts latch coupling, and has an edge or sidewall to engage outer sides of the guiding plates. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,703 provides a terminal block cover, which is directly mounted onto a terminal block. It has snap tabs to latch on the top edge of the guiding plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,550 discloses an extruded plastic hinge cover for terminal blocks that has a flexible strip coupled with a adjacent component and a cover. The adjacent component engages the guiding plates. The flexible strip functions like a hinge and the cover can be swiveled relative to the terminal block to cover the terminal block. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,720 discloses a terminal block cover, which has a hinge mechanism that engages the terminal block's guiding plates, and an axle corresponding to the edge of the cover so that the cover can be swiveled relative to the terminal block.
However, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,697,720, 4,104,703 and 4,898,550 previously discussed do not have an align mechanism in the longitudinal direction of the terminal block. Hence during installation of the cover on the terminal block, the relative position of the cover and the terminal block has to be adjusted and aligned accurately, to shield and protect all the terminals. A slight deviation could expose the terminals and result in being hit by external articles. As a result, a short circuit between the terminals or disconnecting of the signal wires still could happen.